Popular Men’s Shed appeals for help to meet demand

ON MONDAYS, Wednesdays and Fridays, the St Leonards Men’s Shed is a hive of activity.

The group has occupied a small shed on City of Greater Geelong-owned land within Len Trewin Reserve since 2014, but a lack of space has long been a concern for its growing membership of almost 50 members.

“It’s just got to the point where once we get 20 people, it just becomes too crowded and a bit unsafe,” shed secretary Shane McManus said.

Some days, the shed has to turn people away.

A facility development plan, developed for the reserve by the city in 2022, even then noted the size of the Men’s Shed was restricting the community’s participation in the initiative and capped the shed’s capacity at 16 people, a figure that sits below its daily average of 20 participants.

The plan lists an expansion of the Men’s Shed’s existing facilities as a “key component” of future development at the reserve.

In 2023, the Men’s Shed successfully applied for a community infrastructure grant from the city to engage an architect to draw up the design for a five by nine metre extension, but missed out on funding in the grant program’s second round, announced in December last year, which would have funded its construction.

“The members were pretty devastated. We’ve done a lot of work that appeared to be for nothing,” Mr McManus said, questioning the distribution of the available $3 million in funding, which was mostly divided between local sporting clubs.

“The only impact the extension has on any other user is probably taking two car spaces around the whole reserve.

“Two days after we got the letter from the council saying we didn’t get the extension, we had a double amputee come in with his carer, and I had to tell him ‘I have to put you on the waiting list’.

“I said ‘Honestly, we’d love to have you here, but we can’t fit you in here at the moment’.”

Eager to continue supporting the mental health and social connection of the community’s men, the St Leonards Men’s Shed is now trying again, and is calling on the city to assist in the delivery the much needed and “shovel ready” extension to group’s homebase.

This time, the shed’s application will be backed by more than 370 letters of support from individuals and businesses across the township.

The St Leonards Men’s Shed has also reduced the funding it is seeking from the city by 50 per cent, as it attempts to find other ways to fund the extension to further its chances of success.

The City of Greater Geelong has been contacted for comment.